Carbon Mineralization and Labile Organic Carbon Pools in the Sandy Soils of a North Florida Watershed

Ahn, MiY; Zimmerman, AR; Comerford, NB; Sickman, JO; Grunwald, S

HERO ID

1285560

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2009

HERO ID 1285560
In Press No
Year 2009
Title Carbon Mineralization and Labile Organic Carbon Pools in the Sandy Soils of a North Florida Watershed
Authors Ahn, MiY; Zimmerman, AR; Comerford, NB; Sickman, JO; Grunwald, S
Journal Ecosystems
Volume 12
Issue 4 (Jun 2009)
Page Numbers 672-685
Abstract The large pool of actively cycling carbon (C) held in soils is susceptible to release due to changes in landuse, management, or climate. Yet, the amount and distribution of potentially mineralizable C present in soils of various types and the method by which this soil C fraction can best be quantified, are not well established. The distribution of total organic C (TOC), extractable C pools (hot-water-extractable and acid-hydrolyzable), and in vitro mineralizable C in 138 surface soils across a north Florida watershed was found to be quite heterogeneous. Thus, these C quality parameters could not statistically distinguish the eight landuses or four major soil orders represented. Only wetland and upland forest soils, with the largest and smallest C pool size, respectively, were consistently different from the soils of other landuse types. Variations in potential C mineralization were best explained by TOC (62%) and hot-water-extractable C (59%), whereas acid-hydrolyzable C (32%) and clay content (35%) were generally not adequate indicators of C bioavailability. Within certain landuse and soil orders (Alfisol, Wetland and Rangeland, all with>3% clay content), however, C mineralization and clay content were directly linearly correlated, indicating a possible stimulatory effect of clay on microbial processing of C. Generally, the sandy nature of these surface soils imparted a lack of protection against C mineralization and likely resulted in the lack of landuse/soil order differences in the soil C pools. If a single parameter is to be chosen to quantify the potential for soil C mineralization in southeastern U.S. coastal plain soils, we recommend TOC as the most efficient soil variable to measure.
Doi 10.1007/s10021-009-9250-8
Wosid WOS:000266448400011
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Is Public Yes
Keyword USA, Florida; ASW, USA, Florida; Total organic carbon; Climate; Bioavailability; Mineralization; Ecosystems; plains; Soil; Land use; Watersheds; Wetlands; Clays; Forests; Rangelands; Clay; sandy soils; Carbon; Organic carbon
Is Qa No